Thomas Bullaker, OFM (also John Baptist) (born at

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

about the year 1604; executed at

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Ox ...

, 12 October 1642) was an English

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr,

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

in 1987.

Life

He was the only son of a pious and well-to-do physician of Chichester; his parents were both fervent Catholics. At an early age he was sent to the English College at St-Omer, and from there he went to

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

in Spain to complete his studies. Convinced of his vocation to the Franciscan Order, after much anxious deliberation, he received the habit at Abrojo, and a few years later, in 1628, was ordained priest. Having left Spain for the English mission, he landed at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, but was immediately seized and imprisoned. Released after two weeks, Bullaker by order of the provincial in England, Father Thomas of St. Francis, worked for nearly twelve years among the poor Catholics of London. On 11 September 1642, Bullaker was seized while celebrating

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

in the house of a pious benefactress. He was condemned to be drawn on a hurdle to Tyburn and there

hanged, drawn, and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ( ...

, and beheaded.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullaker, Thomas 1600s births 1642 deaths English Franciscans 17th-century English Roman Catholic priests English beatified people People executed by Stuart England by hanging, drawing and quartering 17th-century venerated Christians Year of birth uncertain Year of birth unknown People from Chichester Executed people from West Sussex Executed Roman Catholic priests Eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales